Antagonism
by CalloftheHaunted
Summary: It was getting even colder. Another whisper, this time not fading away, becoming gradually louder and closer until a hissed "Hhhhhey" right in his ear almost made his eyes snap open.


Title: Antagonism  
Author: CalloftheHaunted (or dark-Necrofear on tumblr)  
Fandom: YuGiOh  
Characters: Ryou, Bakura  
Warnings: swearing, attempted suicide/trigger warning?  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

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Ryou's eyes fluttered open. His soulroom. Good. He moved to get up from where he was lying on the floor then, when upright he walked purposefully over to his door. He wrenched it open and gave the door opposite a hard stare. The black metal eye in the centre stared back at him blankly.

'I can open it. _I can_.'

And he did. The door swung open slowly. He pushed forward again, descending the stone steps towards the pit of the room. Nothing would elicit a reaction quite like him entering the spirits soulroom of his own volition. He had only gone down the first few steps when the atmosphere shifted dramatically. It had been still and warm, almost stagnant, when he had entered, now it was shifting, becoming restless and cold, getting colder the further down he went. He suppressed a smile.

'That's right. Pay attention to me.'

He reached the bottom of the stairs, his bare feet taking in the shift from stone to sand. He didn't stop, walking straight forward to the centre of the room, turning around facing the way he had come and sitting himself down cross-legged on the floor. He sat up straight, placed his hands in lap, closed his eyes, and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Almost immediately there was a whisper from behind him to his right which he felt rather than heard. He picked it up easily but refused to turn to it.

'No tricks. No fear tactics. I won't fall for it.'

There were more whispers. Unintelligible, ever moving around him, coming from different areas of the blackness. For a second, he thought he heard footsteps from behind, coming out of the darkness that obscured the back wall. Light padding across sand. But then they stopped. Ryou tried to sharpen his perception, feeling out behind him, trying to locate the other's presence. Was 'he' standing there? He couldn't tell. This was wasting time.

"Hey!" The volume of his voice surprised even him. He was rewarded with silence. He shuddered, then realised that that was of significance. It was getting even colder. Another whisper, this time not fading away, becoming gradually louder and closer until a hissed "Hhhhhey" right in his ear almost made his eyes snap open. Ice ghosted across his cheek and a shiver ran up his arm and came to rest on his shoulder gaining weight and pressure until he realised a hand rested there.

The spirit, known to him as Bakura, usually took his form, almost identical, even so it made him uncomfortable to look directly at him. An advantage to keeping his eyes closed was that he didn't have to look.

"Why are you here?" The spirit hissed at him, and Ryou forced a flinch.

"T-this is my body, my mind, why shouldn't I be here? If I have access to it, then I am perfectly entitled to be here." He frowned in mock annoyance. His heart raced. 'Keep talking. Just keep him talking.'

"Hn. Well done" Bakura chuckled. Ryou frowned, pretending to be hurt that the spirit was poking fun at his stutter, "But that doesn't answer my question."

Ryou sighed in a put upon fashion, making it seem like he was irritated at having to explain something so simple to someone so stupid, but in reality his heart beat faster. That was ambiguous. Did he know?

He opened his mouth to repeat his answer, but he was stopped by a hand shooting out and grabbing his face roughly. His eyes finally opened and he stared directly into the eyes of Bakura

"Why would you want to be here, when you so obviously fear it? And when you also know that_ I_ don't even want to be here? This tells me that you are here for another reason. What are you planning? What are you up to this time? _What isss it?_" The end if his sentence came out in a burning hiss. Ryou smiled as best he could with a vice like grip on his lower jaw. He grabbed Bakura's wrist .

"There's no fooling you." Bakura growled. His eyes were narrowed and he was raising the fist Ryou wasn't holding on to. Ryou eyes closed. He'd expected violence, he was fully prepared to take a beating, and do what was necessary to keep the spirit here.

But the blow never came. Ryou opened his eyes again and looked up at Bakura. His searing gaze had shifted; it was now to the side, and an uncertain look on his face.

"What is that?" Ryou heard it too now. A swishing sound, like water in the distance. Good. Right on time. As Bakura turned and looked up the stone stairs that led up and out to Ryou's soulroom, Ryou pulled the wrist he was holding, at the same time yanking his face back and reaching for the other's shoulder with his free hand, pulling him forwards and rolling them so that Ryou was on top and pinning him down.

Bakura grunted and moved quickly, hooking his leg behind Ryou's and pushing hard, managing to roll them again. "What _is_ this? What are you-?" He froze and then turned to look at the top of the stairs again, water was creeping over the top step, beginning to roll down and spread. "...no."

He lurched to his feet, running towards the stairs, but Ryou scrambled half way up as soon as he was released and launched himself forward, grabbing him around the waist and throwing them both to the floor.

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE KILLING US!"_ They wrestled furiously on the sand for few moments, continuously rolling and pinning each other, one trying desperately to get away, the other trying desperately to keep them both there. The water had begun to spill onto the sand by now, being absorbed and taken in, but the volume of water from the top of the stairway was increasing.

Still fighting, Bakura had managed the get to the bottom of the stairs. He was pulling himself up on them as Ryou tried to use both their bodyweights to bring them down. Bakura managed to get a leg free of Ryou's grasp and kicked out at him, hitting him square in the face, Ryou recoiled for a costly few seconds before scrambling up the stairs after the other. 'I can't let him reach the top, I can't let him stop me.'

Bakura was ahead, but struggling against the torrent of water now falling down the stairs. Ryou also struggled, making it difficult to catch up, but his determination meant he was gaining. He looked behind him at the pit of the room again, and saw with satisfaction that it was starting to fill. A noise louder than the water was fighting for dominance, a high, hoarse scream, gradually getting louder and more piercing.

Bakura was almost at the top. 'No!' Ryou pushed on harder, but it was no use, he wasn't going to beat him. He slipped, letting out a yell falling a few steps with the water, but managing the grab hold and stop himself from being dragged all the way down. He looked up just as Bakura disappeared over the threshold.

As soon as Bakura left his soulroom, he willed himself upwards into consciousness. He tried to take a breath but his lungs burned and his airway felt blocked. Eyes flying open he saw the distorted and shimmering image of the bathroom. He reached for the side of the bathtub and hauled himself into a sitting position. The water rushed away from him, splashing up the tiled walls and cascading over the side of the bath onto the floor. He dragged himself over the side of the bath, landing hard on his shoulder and just lying on the floor coughing and wretching, his chest heaving. His clothes clung to his body, and his hair stuck to his face and neck as he lay exhausted from the near drowning. He lifted his head wearily and looked about himself, making sure they weren't in anymore immediate danger before laying his head back down and closing his eyes.

Ryou lay on the dampened sand, panting, the torrent of water having died down and then slowly drained away. He had failed in killing himself, and therefore had failed in setting the spirit back a long way. He was going to suffer for it, he knew that. But he knew that the spirit wouldn't be able to harm him too much. He'd proven in that little crisis that Ryou's body was of more importance to him that he formerly made out. All the death threats were empty, and he wouldn't be willing to do anything that would impede his progress.

He heard the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs slam closed and he laughed, quietly at first, gradually getting louder and uncontrolled. "I almost got you that time. I almost beat you."

Bakura glared hatefully down at Ryou who still lay on his side on the wet sand laughing at him. He stalked down the stairs, reaching the sand and dropping himself down next to Ryou, grabbing his shoulder and turning him onto his back, grabbing his other should and leaning over him, effectively pinning him down.

"You little bastard." Bakura panted. Ryou laughed in his face. He moved his head down, leaning his forehead against Ryou's chest. "You don't understand. Do you have any idea how much that would have cost me?" Ryou's laughter died and he lay still, Bakura's voice wasn't harsh, it didn't sound angry. It was quiet. It sounded desperate. "You stupid little, ignorant child!" Bakura pushed his back down into the sand as he shoved away from him, pushing himself upright and turning his back on Ryou before making his way back up the stairs. The door closed behind him and Ryou heard the distinct sound of it bolting.

He lay where he was, thinking about what he had just heard. Ryou had won to a certain extent. He had won the right to fight, and had been given the opportunity to try again, and to possibly win next time. Bakura had lost some of his power over him. He knew Bakura could still hurt him, he knew Bakura could still make him suffer. But he knew what scared Bakura now. And he was going to use that.

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Thanks for reading :)


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